Why basswood
Basswood is the standard for quality wood blinds, and the reasons are practical rather than romantic. It is light, roughly a third lighter than oak, which means a wide blind does not become a two-handed lift. It has a tight, even grain with very little figure, so it takes stain uniformly instead of blotching. And it is dimensionally stable, which matters enormously in Colorado.
Our winter humidity regularly sits below 20%. Wood in that environment gives up moisture and shrinks; when the July monsoon arrives it takes some back and swells. Species with open grain and higher moisture content move visibly through that cycle: slats bow, and a bowed slat never closes flat again. Kiln-dried basswood moves least among the practical options, which is why it is what we sell.
Stain or paint
Stain is the reason to buy real wood. If you have alder, oak or knotty pine trim (common in Colorado Springs homes built from the 1990s onward) a stained basswood blind can be matched to it closely enough that the window becomes part of the millwork rather than an object hung in front of it. Bring us a spare piece of casing or a cabinet door and we will match to the physical sample rather than to a photo.
Painted wood blinds are also worth considering, particularly in white. A painted basswood slat has a smoother finish than a composite one and a crisper edge, and the weight difference is noticeable on wide windows. The counter-argument is cost: if you want white, faux wood delivers a very similar look for less and does not care about moisture.
Our shorthand: if it is going to be stained, buy real wood. If it is going to be white, look hard at faux wood first.
Where not to put them
Real wood and water do not get along, and it is better to hear that now than in two years.
Bathrooms: repeated steam swells the slats and lifts the finish, starting at the ends where the end grain is exposed. Use composite.
Laundry rooms: same problem, plus heat.
Over a kitchen sink: splashing and steam. A faux wood blind here will look the same and last three times as long.
Unconditioned spaces: garages, three-season porches, sunrooms without climate control. The temperature and humidity swings are too large.
Everywhere else (living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, offices, hallways) real wood is a genuinely lovely product and we sell a lot of it.
Details that separate good wood blinds from cheap ones
- Cloth tapes. Decorative fabric tapes run down the front of the blind, hiding the route holes and adding a tailored, traditional look. They also block a little more light when closed. Worth considering in formal rooms.
- Valance style. A standard valance is a flat board across the top. A crown or dust-cover valance returns at the ends to hide the brackets from the side, which matters if the window is visible from an angle: most are.
- Route hole size. Cheaper blinds have larger holes for the lift cords, which means more pinpoints of light when the blind is closed. Better ones minimise them, and routeless designs eliminate them entirely.
- Slat thickness. Thin slats flex and eventually take a set. A properly specified basswood slat holds flat across a wide span.
None of these are visible in a catalogue photograph, and all of them are visible in your living room every day.
Common questions
- How do wooden blinds work?
- Slats are held in a ladder of cords or tapes. A tilt wand or cord rotates the ladder, which turns every slat in unison to change the light angle. A separate lift mechanism raises the whole stack to the headrail. In a cordless design the lift is spring-assisted so the blind holds anywhere without a hanging cord. More at [How Do Wooden Blinds Work?](/how-do-wooden-blinds-work/)
- Are wood blinds worth the extra cost over faux wood?
- For a stained finish, yes. Nothing else looks like it. For a painted white finish in an ordinary room, the case is weaker, and faux wood gives you a very similar appearance with better moisture resistance for less money. The other real advantage of wood is weight on wide windows, where a faux wood blind gets heavy to lift.
- Will wood blinds fade in the Colorado sun?
- Stains lighten over years of direct exposure, most visibly on the sun-facing side of the slats. It is gradual and it happens to all wood, indoors and out. On a hard west-facing window we would usually suggest faux wood or a shade instead, and keep real wood for the rooms where it can age gracefully.
- How do I clean wood blinds?
- Dust regularly with a microfibre cloth or a vacuum brush, tilting the slats one way and then the other so you reach both faces. For anything sticky, a barely damp cloth followed immediately by a dry one: never let water sit on the wood, and never use ammonia or all-purpose spray cleaners, which strip the finish.
- What slat size is best for wood blinds?
- Two inch is the standard and suits most windows. Two and a half inch gives more view when open and fewer lines across the glass, which is preferable on large windows and where there is a view worth preserving. It stacks a little deeper at the top when fully raised.
